Truck Industry

 

Truck Manufacturers

 

Canoo Inc.

 

EV Maker Inks Incentives With Oklahoma, Cherokee Nation — “Electric-vehicle company Canoo Inc. said Monday it has finalized workforce and economic development incentives potentially worth tens of millions of dollars with the state of Oklahoma and the Cherokee Nation for its vehicle assembly and battery module manufacturing plants planned for Oklahoma City and Pryor. The company estimated the incentives could be worth as much as $113 million over 10 years and require it to meet various investment and job creation targets. ‘It’s been a multi-year effort to get to this point, and we are delighted to have finalized these agreements which enable Canoo to hire more than 1,300 Oklahomans and fulfill the vision of its state and tribal leaders to bring new industry to the state,’ Tony Aquila, the CEO of Canoo, said in a statement. ‘We’re grateful for the warm reception we’ve received,’ Aquila said, ‘and we look forward to further building upon our relationships with state and local government and tribal leaders to realize their vision for Oklahoma.’” [Law360, 8/14/23 (=)]

 

EV Maker Canoo Posts Smaller-Than-Expected Loss On Lower Costs — “Electric-vehicle maker Canoo (GOEV.O) posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss on Monday on lower research and development costs, sending its shares up 2% in extended trading. The company also unveiled its new lifestyle delivery vehicle 190, that has increased payload load capacity and body length compared with the original lifestyle delivery vehicle 130. Canoo’s loss narrowed to $70.9 million in the second quarter from $164.4 million a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company lost 14 cents per share, compared with estimates of a loss of 19 cents, according to Refinitiv data. Research and development costs fell about 67% in the quarter, lowering operating expenses to $73.6 million from $173.5 million a year earlier.” [Reuters, 8/14/23 (=)]

 

Nikola Corp.

 

Coolant Leak The Cause Of 'Suspicious' Nikola Truck Fire, BEV Sales On Hold — “Investigators have determined that an electric truck fire at Nikola headquarters June 23 once thought to be an act of foul play was due to a coolant leak inside a battery pack. The truck re-ignited exactly one month later. The findings by third-party investigation firm Exponent were further corroborated, Nikola said, ‘by a minor thermal incident that impacted one pack on an engineering validation truck parked at the company’s Coolidge, Arizona, plant on Aug. 10.’ No one was injured in either incident. Nikola said it is currently in the process of filing a voluntary recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for approximately 209 Class 8 Tre battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), and is placing a temporary hold on new BEV sales until a resolution is in place. Nikola in response to CCJ Monday couldn’t estimate how long this could take or how long BEV sales might be suspended. Internal investigations from Nikola’s safety and engineering teams indicate a single supplier component within the battery pack as the likely source of the coolant leak and efforts are underway to provide a field remedy in the coming weeks, the company said. These actions do not affect the hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) currently in production as the truck’s battery pack has a different design.” [Commercial Carrier Journal, 8/14/23 (=)]

 

Nikola Recalls All 209 Electric Trucks Following June Fire — “Nikola, the electric truck manufacturer, in June reported a fire around its global headquarters in Phoenix. Five electric trucks were burned in the incident, the company confirmed, though no injuries were reported. The company took to Twitter to announce that it suspected foul play was involved in starting the fire. UPDATE 8/14/23: Information from a third-party investigation found that the most likely cause of the June fire was a coolant leak inside a single battery pack. According to Nikola, the findings were further corroborated by a minor thermal incident that impacted one pack on an engineering validation truck parked at the company’s Coolidge, Ariz. plant on Aug. 10. As a result, the manufacturer is issuing a voluntary recall of all 209 battery-electric trucks in dealer or customer care. Following the release of the new information, the company also confirmed that its June 23 statement alluding to foul play as a possible cause of the incident was most likely incorrect. UPDATE 7/24/23: One of the previously damaged trucks from the June fire described below reignited on Sunday. This occurred at Nikola’s headquarters, according to Reuters. In a statement to Car and Driver, Nikola confirmed the event, saying tat there were no injuries and that the fire was quickly extinguished by the Phoenix Fire Department. ‘This truck was severely damaged in the original incident and was being monitored closely,’ the company said. ‘In situations such as this where a battery-electric vehicle has had its system compromised during an incident, it is known to have a higher-than-normal likelihood to reignite, which is why our safety and engineering teams were monitoring as our investigation continues.’” [Car and Driver, 8/14/23 (+)]

 

Nikola Shares Fall After EV Maker Recalls All Of Its Battery-Electric Semitrucks Following A Fire — “KEY POINTS Nikola is recalling all 209 of the battery-electric semitrucks it has made to date to repair a potential flaw in their battery packs. A fire that started in a truck’s battery pack destroyed five Nikola trucks at the company’s headquarters in June. The recall doesn’t affect Nikola’s new fuel-cell-powered semitruck.” [CNBC, 8/14/23 (=)]

 

Nikola Recalls Electric Trucks Because ‘Foul Play’ Fires Were Actually Coolant Leaks — “Back in late June, electric semi-truck startup Nikola Motors said foul play was the cause of a fire that toasted several vehicles at its Phoenix, Arizona headquarters. Shortly after, the Phoenix Fire Department concluded that there was no evidence to backup such claims and that the cause of the fire was ‘undetermined.’ However, the cause is undetermined no longer. It turns out a coolant leak in the battery packs likely started the fires, causing Nikola to recall all 209 battery-electric trucks that it has delivered or built to date. Nikola has walked back its previous claims as a result of the finding. The company’s official line, stated in a press release, is that ‘foul play or other external factors were unlikely to have caused the incident.’” [The Drive, 8/14/23 (+)]

 

Nikola Recalls All Battery-Electric Trucks, Halts Sales After Fire Probe — “Nikola (NKLA.O) said on Friday it was recalling all the battery-powered electric trucks that it has delivered till date and is suspending sales after an investigation into recent fires found a coolant leak inside a battery pack as the cause. There are a total of 209 battery-powered electric trucks in the marketplace between dealers and customers and the company is recalling those vehicles and is in the process of contacting all parties, a spokesperson for Nikola told Reuters. The preliminary findings of the probe by a third-party investigator were corroborated on Thursday by a ‘minor thermal incident’ on one pack on a parked engineering-validation truck, the company said, adding that no one was injured. ‘Foul play or other external factors were unlikely to have caused the incident,’ Nikola said in a statement, adding efforts were underway to provide a remedy.” [Reuters, 8/14/23 (=)]

 

Nikola Recalls Electric Trucks Due To Battery Pack Fire Risks — “Dive Brief: Nikola is voluntarily recalling its battery electric trucks because of a fire hazard issue tied to a battery pack component, the OEM announced Friday. The manufacturer is alerting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the 209 Tre BEVs affected by the issue and is currently placing a hold on new sales of the Class 8 truck. Nikola brought in a third-party investigator to examine the issue after a battery pack caught fire at its Arizona headquarters in June. The outside firm found the fire was likely caused by a coolant leak inside the pack.” [Transport Dive, 8/14/23 (=)]

 

Nikola To Halt Sales, Recall Trucks After Battery Fires — “All the Class 8 Tre battery-electric trucks Nikola Motor sold or sent to potential customers for testing are being recalled, the company said. A total of 209 trucks have been recalled and a temporary hold on new sales is now in place as a result of an investigation into a June 23 fire at Nikola’s Phoenix headquarters. Nikola is in the process of notifying the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, it added. The probable cause of the fire, which spread from one truck to four others, was a coolant leak inside a single battery pack, according to the preliminary findings of a probe by Exponent, a third-party investigator.” [Transport Dive, 8/14/23 (=)]

 

 

Charging Companies & Utilities

 

Schneider Electric SE

 

Schneider Adds Electric Terminal Tractors To SoCal Fleet — “Schneider is now running two Lonestar Specialty Vehicles battery-electric terminal tractors, expanding its electric fleet to 94 vehicles. The Lonestar S22 terminal electric tractors move trailers at Schneider’s Rancho Cucamonga, California, cross dock. The tractors replaced two diesel units. Schneider is No. 7 on the FleetOwner 500: Top For-Hire Fleets of 2023. Each tractor can run for 24 hours before needing to be recharged. A full charge takes an estimated hour and a half, according to a Schneider press release. See also: Schneider unveils large-scale SoCal EV charging depot ‘Implementing these tractors is a massive achievement as we move toward operating zero-emission vehicles at scale,’ said Schneider VP of Equipment Engineering Jake VandeLoo. ‘Adding the units is part of our efforts to reduce the carbon footprint.’ The new tractors will save an estimated 35 tons of CO2 per truck each year, according to the company.” [FleetOwner, 8/14/23 (=)]

 

 

States & Local

 

California

 

CARB Issues Final Changes To ZEV Truck Fleet Rule As Lawsuits Loom — “California air board officials are circulating what are expected to be final changes to their landmark rule requiring truck fleets to purchase zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) beginning in 2024 and that only zero-emission trucks can be sold starting in 2036, as trucking groups mull whether to file lawsuits to block the rule once it is codified. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) ‘is making changes to the proposed regulatory text to improve clarity,’ states an Aug. 4 notice of a second set of ‘15-day’ changes to the Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation, which the board adopted April 28. Parties can comment on the latest proposed modifications until Aug. 21. The changes consist primarily of revisions to a ‘five-day pass’ provision, which allows a fleet owner to operate a non-compliant vehicle up to five consecutive days in California once per calendar year, as well as the removal of ‘language that sunsetted provisions of the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulation at the end of the 2035 model year (the latter of which did not need to be finalized in this rulemaking action for ACF),’ the notice states. The proposed modifications also include ‘minor clarifications to various reporting, recordkeeping, and compliance requirements, and nonsubstantial corrections to grammar and punctuation.’” [Inside EPA, 8/14/23 (=)]

 

Rhode Island

 

From ‘Stinky’ To Smooth: Electric School Buses Come With Challenges And Triumphs — “The group, lined up alongside a big school bus, marveled at the yellow chariot. They had been waiting all morning to climb aboard. As the passengers filed in and the driver turned the key, the machine beeped like a robot, then the engine started to hum like a cicada. ‘That’s it,’ the driver said. ‘Wow,’ several passengers said. The Westerly school bus that idled in front of Rhode Island College’s Horace Mann Hall on Thursday stood out for two reasons: its passengers that morning weren’t schoolchildren but educators and environmentalists; and instead of a roaring diesel engine, it vibrated quietly with electricity. Westerly officials and their bus had made the trip up north for an event hosted by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management to discuss the difficulties and benefits of transitioning away from the traditional gas- and diesel-guzzling, canary-colored beasts toward electrical buses. Before the bus tour began, Michael Healey, DEM’s chief public affairs officer, spoke to the group about the studied harms of diesel emissions on air quality and children’s health.” [ecoRI News, 8/13/23 (+)]

 

 

 

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To receive Trucks Clips or other Clean Vehicles Coalition (CVC) materials, please contact Al-Batool Ibrahim

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For any other questions or comments, please contact Mitch Dunn

(mitch@beehivedc.com)